Port Metro Vancouver Truckers Ordered Back to Work

VANCOUVER — The provincial government is working on a bill to send 250 Unifor truckers, currently on strike, back to work.

The bill could land as early as Monday morning and includes a 90-day cooling off period and the union is taking it as a refusal to negotiate.

Unifor issued a statement on Wednesday, saying: “BC Transportation Minister Todd Stone’s refusal to negotiate with container truck drivers and the introduction of forced-work legislation will only make matters worse in the port dispute.”

Paul Johal, President of Unifor-Vancouver Container Truckers’ Association (VCTA) commented: “The minister can’t expect to stick his head in the sand and make this go away. A negotiated settlement is the only sustainable solution.”

Meanwhile, Port Metro Vancouver will move to terminate licenses.

"These actions are necessary and are required today to protect the economy, protect jobs for British Columbians and Canadians, and keep goods and services moving across the country," the port and government said in a joint statement on Wednesday.

“The plan ensures truck drivers are paid fair compensation and a quick implementation of pilot measures to help reduce wait times at container terminals and the creation of an industry oversight committee,” BCTA wrote in a statement.

As many as 400 Unifor drivers and 1,000 non-unionized drivers part of the United Truckers Association (UTA) are striking because they are unhappy with their wages and long wait times at the port’s terminals.

Jerry Dias, Unifor’s national president commented: “Stripping workers of their right to negotiate fair working conditions is not leadership. We’re actively seeking a resolution that works for everyone, but that can’t be done if the minister doesn’t take workers’ rights seriously.”

The Port had more than enough time to look into this situation and fix the problems we are all facing. They chose to ignore our complaints.They underestimated the unity the truckers are showing in this dipute. PMV trying to scare us away and replace us, if possible, with new drivers. It is very obvious that majority of the truckers are immigrants and mostly Indians. They believe the truckers have no wehre to go other than driving a truck,due to lack of communication barrier most immigrants face. PMV and the governments believe they can bully them back to work or bring in new drivers from outside of BC, if not outside of Canada. Just to clearfy, if I am not making enough money for a good livelyhood, what is the point of having that job?

Name

2 years 1 month ago

15 days ago truckers across Canada asked the fed gov. to have meeting in each prov. 10 days ago set min truck rates and the strike would already be over but the large shippers and the CTA. said NO